Kimono, a dying art and the international comminity

“We desperately need to encourage more young people to embrace the kimono, train more young craftsmen and diversify by selling our beautiful textiles internationally.”

“It’s important for the kimono industry to evolve and modernise in order to survive,” said the younger Mr Komiya. “Traditional craftsmanship should ideally be passed on from generation to generation, but this is not going to be possible in the future.”

“Kimono makers need to seek customers abroad, said Chie Hayakawa, communications director at the Mandarin Oriental hotel where last week’s events were being held. “Kimonos are exquisitely beautiful, made from the finest silks in the world,” she said. “These handcrafted fabrics should be more widely used internationally, with more collaborations with high profile fashion designers. There is so much potential.”

This was a article from 2 years ago so according to this kimono as a traditional craft has about 8 years left. I am trying to find a more up to date article to see how the industry is looking but from the British media articles this year, it’s still in decline.